Ephesians overview – 3:14-19, Pauls prayer (inner man: the human spirit), part 18.Thursday April 16, 2020
The human spirit is used of man’s mental and moral qualities in general. The Holy Spirit bears witness with it so that it will continue to conform with the qualities of Christ.
Isa 11:2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Now, watch the fulfillment of this:
Joh 16:14-15 "He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you. 15 "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose it to you.
Gal 4:19 My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you
Eph 3:16-17 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith
1Co 2:9-10 "Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him."
10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
The Holy Spirit is bearing witness to your inner human spirit of the deep things of God, revealed in the Person and work of Christ. We must let Him and we must willingly and diligently partner with Him in that desire to see and live in it. He will not force us. We must choose it. And God promises that if we do, we will see it.
Joh 9:35-36 Jesus heard that they had put him out; and finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 36 He answered and said, "And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"
This is the first time that I have seen the humility of this question.
The man admits that he doesn’t have the ability on his own to see the Son of Man. It is humility.
Jesus reveals Himself, but not only to the former blind man, but to all who are in hearing.
Joh 9:37-39 Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you." And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him. And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind."
The revelation of God through Christ to the world is in essence judgment upon the world. By revealing Himself to man, man has laid before him a choice on whether this revelation is true or not.
The Pharisees show that the unbeliever in essence brings judgment upon himself. The declaration is not foremost that Jesus is wrong but that they are “not blind.” It is the unbeliever saying that he is not a sinner and in no need of a Savior. But it is not the humble who are saved, for the revelation and the miracle were obvious to all, and all are infected with sin; none are humble, all are proud. The question put to the world is the same one that Jesus asks, except to the world the question is posed by the Holy Spirit, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
Joh 9:40-41 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things, and said to Him, "We are not blind too, are we?" 41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.
Thus generally for all the manifestations of the spiritual part in man, as that which thinks, feels, wills; and also to denote certain qualities which characterize the man:
"poor in spirit" (Mat 5:3) "spirit of gentleness" (Gal 6:1) "of bondage" (Rom 8:15) "of jealousy" (Num 5:14) "not of timidity, but of power, love and discipline" (2Ti 1:7) "of stupor [to hardened Israel]" (Rom 11:8).
The spirit of man is a most interesting subject. Its importance is clear. It motivates gives passion and emotion to what the soul currently is.
The spirit of man also represents a certain understanding. The characterizations above, say gentleness for instance, could be the condition of a soul; a gentle soul or gentle man, but what motivates it? The spirit of gentleness could mean the breath of gentleness, meaning the motivation, which would also imply an understanding of it in God. I couldn’t be motivated by a designation of God unless I properly understood it as God revealed it. So again, we see the importance of knowledge and understanding and why Satan’s scheme is to keep us ignorant.
This also shows us that we are to be unified within. The right soul with the right motivation and the right desire, all from the same source – God. As the Trinity is one and the body of Christ is one, we are to be one within, or whole. All of me must be given to God. I am not to desire to be the type that God has revealed I should be, but for the wrong reason, or from the wrong power. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are unified in love, and we must be so within. Hence, knowing the subtle differences that the scripture tells us between soul, spirit, heart, and mind we are must better equipped to detect the reason within when there is a systemic problem in our thinking and behavior, which detection should be done in prayer.
Each of us need to examine our inner man from time to time in order to see if it is in good working order as God would have it, and if we find that it is not, then we can break down its parts; soul, spirit, heart, and mind and prayerfully discover what is ailing it, and by the grace of God, heal it.
We continue to remember that the soul and the spirit of man are so often indistinguishable. Since the spirit of man seems to be more linked to his motivation, we might think that it is so much more important than what we actually do, which seems more linked to the soul, and thus we think that the spirit of us is everything and the soul like a meaningless cork on the sea pushed this way and that. Remember that the spirit and soul are almost synonymous in many passages. You cannot do without motivation and your motivation has to lead you to do. What we do, what we are individually, our soul, is as important as the spirit that breathes into it, if we may be so bold as to say it that way. The point is that one must not be neglected to the raising of the other.
Plus, a person, like Jesus, was fluid, and so are we. Sometimes you might see the motivation distinct from the action, but more often than not you see Jesus as a Person who moves and does and wills as one with His desire and actions – indecipherable.
Yet, sometimes we definitely see ourselves as two people. This is why we talk to ourselves. I believe this is the soul and the spirit having out their differences, and the flesh with its own passions and desires attempts to exert its want of life in both of them, and if the flesh is successful, it must have both of them, for the same reason we have noted, doing always has motivation and therefore sin always has it.
Jam 1:5-18 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 But let the brother of humble circumstances glory in his high position; 10 and let the rich man glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with a scorching wind, and withers the grass; and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.
12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow. 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures.
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